Don't faint, it's a new post!!! Temperament testing the litter this weekend!

Knightley: 1 year 2 months 3 weeks old
Possible puppy: 6 weeks 1 day old

I know, I'm a very bad girl. It has been so very long since my last post. Hah, that sounds quasi-religious.

The reason, once again, is Oz Working Dogs. When I started it I was rather tentative about its prospects of suceeding, but now it is very obvious that it is taking off in a big way. Especially this last week I have been working very hard - probably too hard - and I'm exhausted. I am stocking all sorts of things now, toys, first aid, dog cologne, and making quite a few vests, capes etc. I am happy that I am making others happy with the equipment.

I've also had several bouts of sickness since my last post, including one big whopper of a migraine coupled at the same time with some sort of flare in my primary illness - fever, bad rash, joint pain - which had me as close as going to a hospital as I've been since I spent my 29th birthday in ICU. After that horrific experience I swore I wouldn't go back unless I was half dead. Last week made me reconsider, but I did get through it.

The good news is that Knightley and I have been getting back into training some more. We're working hard on his recall, and it's improving - even at the dog park, gasp!! He's very good at coming at home, even when he is doing something fascinating outside. We continue to work on Level 3 of the Sue Ailsby Step to Success Levels, but without the urgency of before. If I get a new puppy, I plan to take him back to the beginning with the pup. Sometimes I realise how much Knightley does know, especially the indoor manners that are so useful in turning a dog into a nice companion.

Ready world??? Here we come!!

So the big news is the litter of puppies I talked about in my last post are old enough now for temperament testing to see if they are up to assistance dog quality. While temperament testing gives you just a guide of how good the puppy could ideally be when it grows up, it is a valuable tool to rule out puppies who are definitely not going to make it. I am very excited to meet them. The breeder has continued to send photos of the puppies daily - to the point I feel like I already know them somewhat. I'll also be temperament testing some of the girl pups. One of the families getting a pup has a high functioning autistic child, and they're getting a girl. The breeder wants my input to make sure they get the right pup. I've had a chat to someone who is very involved in autism assistance dogs, and with my own knowledge of temperament testing I think I'll be fine to find the right girl for the family. Or maybe two, and then I'll get the breeder to judge which one the child bonds better with.

A small part of their awesome puppy yard, completely with pipes
to crawl through, little seesaws, all sorts of things that blow in the
wind, balls, toys, objects hanging from ropes... just so many thing
that contribute to making a scare proof well balanced pup.

We leave for the trip up to the breeders later today, and it is a long drive - about 7 hours including breaks.... so we are splitting it up there and back over three days. First day will be about 4 hours driving or a bit more, second maybe 5.5 and third 5. Not a bad split. We'll be testing the litter on the second day. I am pretty positive about finding a good prospect in this litter - even perhaps two. These pups have been brought up extremely well, with an amazing expansive puppy yard filled with all sorts of interesting objects. Compared to how the first litter I tested (very very timid litter) was brought up it is just completely and totally different. These puppies have every chance of being amazingly well adjusted dogs. The breeder doesn't let them go until they are 9 weeks old as she vaccinates late, which is fine by me as an extra week with their litter and mother is good continued puppy education and socialisation for the pup. They are a touch over six weeks old now, and will be just about 6.5 weeks old when I test them. 7 weeks is meant to be ideal, but next weekend just wasn't going to work out. They'll only be four days off the ideal, so I think that will be fine.

If there is a puppy in the litter for us, we will have a few purchases to make as I have held off getting things like a crate, bed and mat, although I will be able to make all the leads, collars and harnesses that I desire. The main thing I want, with the whole of my being, is for this puppy to be healthy. If we had another pup with hip dysplasia I would find that extremely hard to accept. We will get PennHip done on this puppy, early, so we know what we are working with.

The puppies exploring the spray from a hose leak. It's so wet!

Knightley will be staying with my dad while we are away, as my mum is also away down on the coast. So I think that will be a bit challenging for him!! He's hoping to engage my brother as a helper to tire Knightley out and babysit him a bit. It's a good idea. My brother lived with us when we first got Knightley, and even though he has grown up a LOT from the lanky adolescent he was when my brother moved out, my brother is still more familiar with him than my parents.

So this weekend is make or break time. Cross your fingers and toes for me as I desperately want to get back on the assistance dog train!!

Will give you the news soon internetland, as to whether Knightley has a new best friend.

Exciting!!! Possibility of a puppy! WOW!!!

Knightley: 1 year 1 month 2 days old
New pup: 7 weeks old??????

Just as I was moaning at the world that life wasn't fair and nothing was ever going right for me, overnight there is now a possibility of bringing a puppy home in TWO days.

Wow wow wow..... He is from a breeder in Sydney, who says this particular puppy is very confident, comes when called, and is just a standout pup. It is very likely we are going up to Sydney on Saturday to see him, temperament test him, and possibly bring him home.

Talk about sudden! I hadn't contacted the breeder previously due to her profile only wanting buyers from the area, but it seems I count. She has had a cancellation from this litter, and thinks that one of the pups is exactly what I want. Talk about exciting. Of course the pup may not be quite what I am looking for.... but please everyone, hope really really really hard for me. I am really quite overdue for something nice happening.

Happy Birthday Knightley!!

1 year 1 day old

So, Knightley is officially not a puppy anymore! Wow! What an amazing last 10 months it has been, and what a lovely dog and member of the family Knightley has become. It is extremely harsh that he is not going to be able to completely fulfill the job I have been training him for - even with surgery - but he is a lovely dog and we hope will be a wonderful therapy dog.

Knightley has had a wonderful birthday weekend. We were out for a lot of his birthday day - we had a trip to the Australian War Memorial with a Navy vet who is a client of my hubby's business, and who gave his company including us the VIP tour. So poor Knightley had to be left alone at home. I've been very sore of late, so had to go in my wheelchair, which was absolutely the right decision. I couldn't have managed it on crutches.

Anyway, after our tour of the War Memorial hubby and I went and bought Knightley his new paddling pool and a whole bunch of sand to dig in. We had to get a pretty shallow paddling pool, there wasn't any choice at this time of the year. He has a much deeper better quality pool for his water pool. So maybe when summer comes along we'll replace his sand 'pool'. Anyway, he got SO excited when we were filling up the pool (from here on in called a pit). Hubby moved the sand in tubs, and didn't actually have to empty them..... because Knightley did that, frantically digging the sand of the big tubs into the pit again and again. So funny. So far the sand pit has been an absolute hit. He loves it, and the sand comes off really easily.

As soon as we got there, checking out who is there and making
friends. A very different setting to our normal dog park!

Today we carried on his birthday weekend, and as we hadn't had the chance yesterday to take him anywhere special, went back to the dog park where he got completely horribly muddy. We'd only been there once before but it's very different to our usual dog park and a much more exciting visit for a birthday dog.

So much to see and do!

 He was obviously very happy to have a good run around. It is important that he does get these chances to run to keep up his hip musculature. I look back now and see lots of little signs that in hindsight tell us about his hip. He has never been a fast runner, and I thought it was just puppy clumsiness. Then several weeks ago, just before we found out about his hip dysplasia, we were at the dog park and another golden came in who looked very similar. It ran much faster than Knightley, and I asked how old and it was 8 months old... There was a flicker of worry inside me but I pushed it aside. Now I really do notice he is a much much slower runner than every dog out there, and tires much more quickly. Why did I think it was just him being a puppy?!

Flying dog!

 Anyway, back onto happy topics. He has really got a lot more furry over these last winter months, although I believe goldens don't get their final coats until about three years old. I find it rather hard to tell whether his weight is right with all his furriness. Especially on his chest and belly... it just means I can't see his outline at all. It makes what is already a very deep chest an extremely deep chest. It is only when he is wet I get a reasonable idea and even then I am usually quite distracted - with keeping the pup there!!

Being 'hugged' by a sweet little kelpie.

He had a really good play with some of the dogs there. This young little kelpie in particular was happy to play and give him lots of hugs! I really wonder what it is going to be like with two dogs and how Knightley will adapt. I wonder how we will adapt too! I bet Knightley will want to play all the time at first. I've checked out the potential puppy's bloodlines more carefully and am still interested in them. Due to our trip to the snow with hubby's work, we'd pick him up (if one passed the temperament test) on the weekend of the 1st of September. He'd be 9 weeks, instead of the usual 8, but that isn't a bad thing.

"Hello, who are you?"

Knightley gets on well with all dogs, but quite a few of them seem to find him annoying or something. Too happy and enthusiastic? He has never ever shown aggression, but there have been a good couple of handfuls of dogs who have had a bit of a go at him. This short haired border collie seemed to find him a bit annoying and was making "I don't like you" noises at Knightley, although here you see them meeting. I think the fact Knightley is yet to lose his bits is one of the reasons random dogs just seem to not like him!


So he had a great birthday visit to the dog park, and seemed to really enjoy going somewhere different. I'm going to do another entry tomorrow and put some photos up of Knightley in his sand pit having fun. 


I can't believe he's a year old. Time really has raced past, but he has turned into a lovely special member of the family. I wish nature hadn't been so cruel to give him bad hips, but such is life. Now he gets to have a friend. I wonder what the next year will bring. This last photo *is* my lovely Knightley to a tee. Reveling in the space and the speed at which he's going, almost completely airborne, and just enjoying himself because he's alive and he's an awesome dog! I hope there are many more years for us with Knightley.

Planning Knightley's Birthday plus more, searching for a pup, a nasty fall for me

11 months 2 weeks 6 days

Knightley wet from his paddling pool as a 16 week old youngster,
cooling off from the summer heat. A photo in a million.

So, Knightley is coming up for his 1 year birthday, and I want to do something special for him - especially considering everything that has been happening to him. I'm looking for ideas, but I do have a few myself. He always LOVES playing in his paddling pool in the backyard, even when it is a freezing winters day (then I only let him get his face and feet wet), and loves the storm water drain when he's allowed to frolic in that. So one idea is a bunch of water toys that he can get off the bottom of his paddling pool (loves sticking his head under and blowing bubbles through his nose), and can float on the top and more.

Knightley blowing bubbles with his nose many many months
ago, 16 weeks old. Still has his puppy fluff.

Another idea is another plastic paddling pool, but to this time fill it with sand as he absolutely loved the chance to dig whilst on the beach. I'd also get some other toys to round out this idea as well..... maybe ones I could bury in the sand, different balls of every type imaginable and all sorts of other bury-able toys that he could dig up. Both of these plans would work well in terms of sharing with a new addition.

If anyone else out there has any further ideas for birthday presents for my gorgeous boy, let me know! I think after being retired before our lives together have barely started, he deserves it. Not that he'll really understand.... just he won't get to go much anywhere to exciting places anymore.

One more thing - if any of you out there have become attached to Knightley over the weeks or months of reading this blog and wish to share in his birthday, we would welcome birthday presents. Or, if you would rather, you could contribute to some puppy toys for the new puppy when it comes! We weren't expecting the expense of another dog, and simple things like toys would be appreciated by Knightley and the yet to be named (and found) pup! So, if you are interested in sending anything to us, and it doesn't matter if it gets here a little late for Knightley's birthday (28th July), contact me via either:

• info (at) ozworkingdogs (dot) com (dot) au or
• downunder (dot) assistance (dot) dog (at) gmail (dot) com

You don't have to by any means, only if you want to!

Anyway, Knightley's limp has improved vastly. Obviously despite the severity of his hip dysplasia we will have at least some time in hand without a default daily limp - I was worried for a bit there that the x-rays had set off something more permanent! We had a lot of fun together in the backyard this morning, and I let him do quite a bit of running around and barely saw him favouring that hip at all. It is important that he doesn't lose his fitness and muscle bulk, as that will make his hip problems worse. So there is a fine line to be found between letting him run, and stopping him before he makes himself lame. Today I rode the line perfectly and he was happy to come inside and sleep after our fun together. I do wonder what having another puppy will be like. It will change the dynamics completely. I have never had more than one dog, and it does make me wonder whether my bond with this second puppy will be as close as it has become with Knightley - as when Knightley was a baby he had only me to play with, but with a new puppy, Knightley will always be there to bond with first.... and only then me. I will have to make sure we have a good deal of time together alone.

The breeder I said I emailed isn't going to be breeding another litter for a while yet, so I have emailed another two breeders, one of which has a litter who is four weeks old now - with 7 males. I don't know how many of those males are still available, but it one of the breeders I originally emailed, and if you have possibly read my very early posts, it was the breeder of the bitch whose mating didn't "take"..... to be polite, heh. Looking on the online Golden Retriever breeding database, k9data.com, the hip score background of sire and dam are pretty good - back several generations it is all good or excellent, but a few more back there are some worse scores. Despite having mostly really good scores my experience with Knightley tells me that you just don't know what recessives are still lurking in breeding dog's genes. Hip dysplasia is hard to breed out but it can be done - it was done very successfully with racing greyhounds. I really think they need to change to PennHip even though it is a lot more expensive and very rare here in Australia. BVA is obviously just not doing the job, sigh.

Anyway, if the breeder with the 7 males happened to have a suitable boy, which would be relatively unlikely but possible.... it would be coming home mid August. As for a name for a new male puppy, I have absolutely no idea. From early on I wanted to call a puppy Knightley as I always liked the character Mr Knightley from Emma, and while I also very much like Mr Darcy from Pride & Prejudice I very much doubt the hubby will stand for that!! It needs to be something that sounds quite different from Knightley to avoid problems when you call the names out. So, I need my thinking cap on. You can't quite make up your mind until you've met the dog though, can you?

I've been thinking a lot about how all our plans for Knightley have changed, and I have decided something... if it is possible that is. From the beginning I intended that if Knightley had the temperament for it, and they let me do it with my mobility problems, I wanted to do therapy dog training with him. He definitely can't be a mobility assistance dog with his hips the way they are, but perhaps he could be a therapy dog?? I think he'd be really good at it, he is such a friendly, happy dog that people just can't help smiling when they see him.... anyone would cheer up to see that golden grin. The local training people don't allow dogs to start therapy  dog training until they are 18 months old, so I think I shall concentrate on training towards that, and also concentrate on getting a good joint supplement regime going to stabilise his hip. It makes me feel significantly more positive that we could work towards being a therapy dog for Knightley. It means he won't get to miss out on all the dreams I had for him. In many ways he will bring as much hope and happiness this way, it just won't be just to me.

Anyway, I had a rather nasty fall today. Thankfully I was inside, but even so it was pretty awful. Somehow I tripped over my own feet.... I swear something makes me clumsy these days. I fell down really hard almost full length, landing on the knee of my 'bad' leg and bruising it pretty badly, jarring my badhip, bruising the other leg and hitting my head hard. It was such a shock I just lay there and gasped for a while, but Knightley was a bit confused.... I think he was wondering if it was some sort of new game, but at the same time he seemed worried. Eventually I managed to pull myself up and inspect the sore bits which are swollen but not broken, and I think then he realised I wasn't playing but was serious and he became all licky and clingy.... trying to even lick my knee .... (owwwww). He crawled onto my lap after I hobbled off to get ice and seemed to try to reassure me that everything was going to be ok. What a good pup he is. Expecting my knee to be very sore indeed tomorrow. :(

Knightley in a large tracking harness, also
with the euro leash which does everything
you would ever wish a leash to do!!

My new cape with pockets is now for
sale.

I also have a few more products on Oz Working Dogs - and if you missed the announcement, am selling to overseas now too. There's a cape, with or without pockets, a 3m/10ft euro leash, a lightweight but super strong comfortable collar, a very mobile mat that can be strapped to the back of many of my vests and bands, and a multipurpose tracking harness. I'll soon be selling clickers, safety vests for dogs, flashing lights for collars/vests, and small water bottle/bowls that can fit even in handbags - plus more.

So, despite everything life does continue.

The Knightley effect

This blog post has been written for the 7th Assistance Dog Blog Carnival! Please visit this page to access the rest of the Carnival and read more blog posts about the effect of assistance dogs on those people around them.

My husband and I brought home Knightley as a fluffy and very inquisitive Golden Retriever bundle at the age of 8 weeks in September last year, with the express aim of training him to be my assistance dog. I'd scoured most of the eastern half of Australia looking for a suitable litter, and I rejected 10 other male puppies before finally finding our Knightley, the last puppy to be temperament tested in a second litter. While he's only 9 months old now, he has already had a massive effect upon my life and indeed, my health; well before I thought he would.

As for a little background, I've been sick for nearly four years, the first year of which was pretty hellish as no one had any idea what was going on and I spent months in hospital. My specialist still doesn't quite know what I have - at first it was thought I likely had Lupus, but now he thinks I could have an 'auto-inflammatory' disease, which is similar to autoimmune, but much much rarer, and hard to diagnose and treat. I have mobility problems that vary in severity from day to day. When it became fairly obvious that I wasn't getting better in a hurry, I started looking for ways to make my life easier. I had trained my previous dog to a reasonable level, so I consumed vast quantities of literature on assistance dog training, clicker training and just training in general before realising training my own dog was indeed feasible.  I did research the option of seeking a dog from a training program, but for various reasons discounted it.

The effect of Knightley in those first couple of weeks in September last year was to cause me to almost rethink what I had done! Unfortunately, at first it was not exactly a positive effect. Previous to Knightley's arrival, if I felt too sick I would just stay in bed most of the day. However, an 8 week old puppy needs a lot of attention, and while I could manage a day or two like that... after a couple of weeks looking after a baby puppy I was just about falling asleep standing up and having to take a lot of medication to make it through every day. Raising a baby puppy is meant to be hard for people who are well, but for me, it was completely earth shatteringly exhausting. However, as I was so very tired, I didn't really notice that Knightley was effecting another change in me. When you have the luxury of lying around in bed feeling sick, that is what you do. With Knightley's arrival I gained structure. I simply *had* to get up and feed him, no matter how I felt. Then since I was already up, I had to play with him, I had to do that early training. I knew what was at stake in getting the right start for early puppy raising, so pushed myself despite my utter exhaustion and sickness.

Slowly Knightley's needs became less: the feedings went from four to three times a day and I didn't have to take him outside as often. As the exhaustion started slowly receding, I started realising what an effect he had already had on my life. Three or four weeks in he made me laugh and smile, stroking him distracted me from pain, the warmth of his little body eased cramps, and he gave me a reason to get up every day, no matter how awful I felt. We were doing a lot of training, just basic stuff that would one day be the basis for his assistance work for me. It was wonderful seeing him soak it all up, knowing that if everything worked out, he would truly be able to help me one day.

Things got better and better. His effect was felt in every facet of my life. Our training sessions gave me a real high when we worked well, and after he got all his shots, we took slow meandering walks together. He gave me a reason to get outside, whereas without him I would have just continued my pattern of not having been outside since I had got sick. I loved seeing his joy in discovering the world, and simply seeing him so happy always had a positive effect on my mood. The fact that I was his trainer, and would be his main trainer throughout all his learning, gave me a lot of inspiration to get going each day and get training. With every breakthrough we made, I got back self respect and self confidence that I had lost with the dramatic change in my life.

Around the time we got Knightley I started volunteering regularly at an arts organisation. I believe that if not for the structure having Knightley gave me, and the mental application I needed for his training, I would not have made a success of my volunteering like I did - especially somewhere where I actually had to use my brain. Having Knightley in my life had really helped prepare me for the workplace, and he wasn't even a working dog yet!

As we embarked on our training journey, writing my blog and participating in several forums and groups introduced me to an expansive network of dog owners and trainers. It has been great to share knowledge and learn new techniques from the many talented trainers out there in internet land. My blog has also got me writing again, which I used to enjoy a lot - both creative writing and nonfiction. The writing practice too has been good for going back to the workplace as I now do a lot of writing at the arts organisation. While actually owning and training Knightley has has its direct effect, having him around has meant refreshing other indirectly related skills that I haven't used for a while.

Anyway, about four weeks ago I decided the time had come to start some concentrated work on training the first steps of a formal assistance retrieve. Amazingly, within only five days, Knightley was able to pick up all sorts of objects on cue for me. I was absolutely thrilled, completely over the moon, because from that moment started the part of our journey in which Knightley starts truly affecting my life as a working dog - well before I was expecting it too. That won't just have an effect upon me, but also my husband and family as I get more and more independence.  Knowing Knightley is with me already gives my husband peace of mind and he worries less. I too feel much more confident when Knightley is with me, and I have only begun to train him to do the assistance tasks I intend for him to do. Assuming we become a successful assistance dog team, we will be unstoppable!

Now at 9 months old, Knightley goes into a few shops briefly with the permission of shop owners, and has been to a couple of loud busy events for further socialisation and some early public access training. He's not afraid of anything, is very happy to be out in public with people around, and is a cheerful, intelligent teenager growing up very quickly. I am thrilled with the choice I made in selecting him last September, as so far things are looking good. Aside from all the things Knightley does to make my life better, and the help he is beginning to give me, his sheer presence seems to make me healthier. I have not been admitted to hospital once since I got Knightley, due no doubt to my more active, structured and generally happier lifestyle. That is a huge benefit.

'The Knightley effect' is something I am incredibly grateful for, and I look forward to exploring what our future together may be.

Halter counter conditioning and a special outing for Knightley coming up!

6 months 2 weeks 6 days old

5th June 2012
Note: If you're looking for information on halters for assistance/service dogs, have a look at my page on dog halters. I have mixed feelings about them, but the best I have found for Knightley is one called an Infin8 made by a company called Black Dog, based here in Australia. It is the mildest, and bothers him the least. You can find it on eBay for a reasonable price. Depending on your currency, it will be cheaper than buying from Black Dog themselves. Now - back to our scheduled programming.

So, over the last couple of days we have continued to work on halter counter conditioning. Lots of treating while making a noose of the twine to put around Knightley's muzzle. Then yesterday evening and again today I attached the twine to one side of a martingale collar and made a loose figure of eight noose around Knightley's muzzle, then attached the other end of the twine to the other side of the collar. At first I would just tie it on lightly, give him a handful of treats, then untie it briefly, then tie it back on and give more treats. This is to give the association of weird thing around my muzzle = treats and mummy loves me praise..... and awww she took it off and the good things stopped :( Then I left it on a bit longer, then I left it on and clipped a leash to the collar, then eventually walked him around inside a bit with it, giving him a treat every step or two.

This morning we went for a short walk outside with the makeshift halter on... and I have to admit, I understand why people get so addicted to halters. He didn't even try pulling to get to frolicking birds. I was impressed. Having said that, I just got back from a short walk, which we did partly in his Freedom Harness, partly just in his flat collar.... and I don't know if the walk with the halter taught him something in that short time, but he was *perfectly* loose. I was very proud of him, we REALLY are getting somewhere. It's the high distraction level we need the halter for though. But if he can learn from the halter so well - if that's what happened today, it may have just been a natural 'leap' of progress that dogs often experience after sleeping on it - I may find he doesn't need to wear the halter for long in order to learn not to rush up to members of the public.

I had some good news today. I've been given two free tickets to our local agricultural/amusement ride/food/entertainment show, and despite the event being marked as 'no dogs', I asked for and have been given permission to bring Knightley with me. This is so he can have the benefit of a day of socialisation that couldn't have more variation or learning experiences all packed together if it tried! I really want him to see horses/cows etc before he is much older, and this is a great chance. Not to mention all the other animals, people, sounds and sights. It's about a week away, so I have a few things that I really really want to work on in anticipation of the day:

• Heel/loose leash - although I will be using our new Comfort Training for the day, (which should be here by then cross fingers) I will need the very best heeling Knightley can do so that he is close and safe by my side, and will hear any cues I give him - although in that high distraction environment it will be interesting to see how many of those cues he obeys!
• Accepting of loud sounds - Knightley so far is really good with sounds, we've had a huge number of big electrical storms recently and he doesn't bat an eye.... however, I'll be using audio snippets to get him used to certain sounds - loud amusement rides especially
• Floor food zen - There will certainly be food (as well as things Knightley would like to think is food, like animal droppings) on the ground, so I have already started work on a reliable 'leave it' for when we are just walking along... there probably isn't time to get it default in a week, but I will get it as good as I can
• Working on a new cue "visit" - Knightley will have new patches saying no pat, whereas previously his patches encouraged patting. For those rare occasions when he is going to be allowed to meet people, I am training a new cue called 'visit', where he must stay in a sit and accept whatever pats are offered. I am gently pulling his ears, sticking my fingers in his mouth a bit, brushing my hands over his eyes, picking up his feet, fiddling with his nails and very gently stepping on his tail (and I mean gently!)..... You just never know how people are going to handle, especially children, and better to be safe than sorry

It should be a pretty amazing experience for Knightley who will be about 7 months old next weekend. I think he is ready to experience an event like this, but do not mistake him for an official 'Assistance Dog trainee' - he is a puppy still, and this is an outing for socialisation, not serious training. Keeping that in mind, it still is a significant step forward, as two months ago Knightley wouldn't have had the maturity for this. He really is growing up and turning into a lovely adolescent dog, without any of the problems that a lot of people report! Will try to get Knightley out in public this weekend for some practice. Looking forward to the show next weekend, I haven't been for many years!

101 Things to Do with a Box, a lovely walk and progress with Levels

5 months 1 week 2 days old

So today Knightley and I had a lovely cool very early morning walk - about 5:30am. It has been rather warm here of late, as you would know if you have been reading my blog regularly... so getting out in the morning means you experience the nicest temperatures. It was indeed lovely this morning, pearly light, a gentle breeze, parrots squawking from the trees and most of all, rather cool - so much so I had to go back for a jacket. Such a relief from the last couple of days. I took Knightley out on his long line down to the local sporting oval and we practiced recalls as I let him run around like a crazy thing. It's a very long long line - 10m (33feet), so he gets a good run, and the recalls are a very good test. I am pleased to say that he was probably 95% accurate on his responses to me, which is pretty good. I still wouldn't trust him off leash, as if a bird comes along, his brain flies out his ears... but it's a good start. Sometimes when he is transfixed on something in the house, and won't respond to his name - even appears to not hear me, he WILL respond to the cue 'come'. I have been very careful to not poison the cue (give it a potentially negative meaning, eg by putting him in his crate straight after he responds to the cue, or taking away something from him after he has responded), and to only use it when it is extremely likely he will indeed obey. It seems to have paid off. I will continue to proof it, with more and more distractions... but it is a good start for a 5 month old pup.

Knightley performing his 'under' cue shortly after he learnt it.
Since then I have proofed it with anything it is possible for
him to get under - even my camera tripod!

We did something new today, Knightley and I. We finally tried out the classic clicker game "101 Things to Do with a Box" (Karen Pryor's instructions for the game). Until fairly recently Knightley and I have been pretty awful at shaping, and I do truly think it was primarily Knightley with a mental block. Of course I have a lot to learn as I am a crossover trainer, but once Knightley understood the process, his progress has been extremely rapid. I actually have training the "under" cue to thank for helping him understand. It was a fairly tough ask, shaping wise, and over several sessions he was obviously asking himself "what the hell is this woman clicking for???:"... but eventually he understood and the whole shaping world was open to us.

Anyway, so I got out a box for him to experiment with (very easy as we have tens if a hundred of the things throughout the house at the moment due to my brother moving out) and sat down to see what would happen. What you do with this game is decide every session upon something different you want your dog to do with the box - such as stand in it, drag it, bump it with its nose, thwack it with its paw, two front paws in it, two back paws, turn it over.... and so on. The more creative the dog the better. You can just let the dog experiment and when you see something you like, start clicking it. Knightley was impressively creative, considering it was his first time. He got the idea pretty much straight away, and after he pawed it a couple of times, I decided I'd try getting him standing with his two front paws in the box. 5 minutes later or so, done!

At the beginning he started barking a bit, as he does quite often when I am shaping... but I had a little brain wave, and decided to use the ideas of something called 'micro-shaping', where even a nose twitch or eye flicker can be clicked if it shows the correct intent. I didn't go quite that far, but I did start clicking a lot more for smaller things, thereby giving Knightley more feedback than he had been getting. I thought I was increasing criteria too quickly, or making the criteria too big... but I think the reason he has been barking is not enough clicking and fast treating!! Wow, revelation! So I'm going to focus on fast treat delivery, and not just for shaping.

Sitting in front of an open door. One of the comeafters
for sit. Handy for when you are busy with shopping and
keys etc, to have a dog who will wait quietly until told. I
have him do it when going out also.

As a Christmas Gift Sue Ailsby produced a checklist of the New Training Levels as contained in her books - the ones I got a few weeks back. It has more accurately shown me where we are up to in our training, and we are going very well indeed. We're probably about 3/4 of the way through Level 2, although we have more of what are called the "Comeafters" to do, which are sort of extra bonus proofing to make sure your dog has really truly learnt the new skills. Despite those, we are making fine progress. I have been thinking about retraining down however. His down has always been slow and is probably about 75% accurate at the moment. Not really acceptable. I did too much luring in its training I think, and didn't fade the lure fast enough, which is why I have ended up with an unreliable cue. So I'll see. Maybe even a new cue would help.

I asked for help on the traininglevels yahoo list several days back about Knightley's barking and excitement issues when we're practicing the start of the retrieve training - which is just getting him to quietly hold objects for longer and longer, and is a level 3 skill. I got quite a  few replies basically telling me to go back to where I came from, and that Knightley couldn't do it because that was simply how the levels worked, and if I followed it all in order then by the time I actually *got* to the retrieve training, then he would have been made ready for it by all the other skills he had learnt.

The items I am practicing retrieve holds with Knightley. A traditional
plastic dumbell, a light canvas bumper-like bone, a box clicker, a carabiner
a spoon and a pencil. Enough variation to get him used to all sorts of
things in his mouth, although we do the most work with the dumbell and
canvas bone.

So I eventually became convinced by the argument, including comments from Sue herself... but decided to just give it one last go before I said goodbye to it for however long it would be. Unfortunately or fortunately..... suddenly it had clicked in Knightley's head and he was doing quiet calm holds..... SIGH. Now what do I do?!?! I have continued to train the hold since then, and he is doing even better!! He can nearly do 5 second holds consistently, which is the next step nearly done. GAH!! So tempting to keep on going................ People who read this, what should I do? Be a good little girl and do the levels in order? Or continue training what Knightley can obviously do and is definitely enjoying! The thing is, if he can start to pick up things earlier than the rest of his assistance dog function comes 'online', then that would make my life quite a bit easier. I know I should be taking it slowly, as my role of assistance dog client and trainer do clash and could be influencing me to Knightley's detriment on this... but he has suddenly started to do really well here. Big big sigh. Aaaanyway.

Outward Hound Quick Access Treat Bag. It has been
just great and has really sped up my treat delivery,
which in turn improves the quality of my training
overall. You see it in this photo with the opening
snapped open.

I ordered a new treat pouch about ten days ago or so, from the US, and a couple of days ago it arrived. One of my problems of late has been a delay in between the click and treat, leading to slower training and poorer learning. Part of the reason for that has been my treat pouches, or when I use my pocket, or even having the treats in my lap when I train sitting down. None of them really encourage fast treating. Kikopup on Youtube has a fantastic treat pouch that I have always been taken with because it would facilitate such fast treating. So I set out to look for something similar. I found the "Outward Hound Quick Access Treat Bag" on eBay and absolutely love it. It snaps open to a permanently open position, or can snap back closed, keeping your treats safe. There is a fair range of quick access treat bags out there, so I recommend if you're clicker training and don't have a fast way of grabbing your treats, look at getting something like this one.

Anyway, that's all from me today. You may have noticed I am blogging more often. It is a conscious effort as I think it makes me a better trainer. I notice more what I am doing from day to day, and think about it more. I also get more traffic! So please, if you enjoy reading this blog, do follow it and show me that I have some regular readers. Also, if you would like to hear about a particular part of Knightley's training at this puppy stage, please ask and I would be happy to blog about it!

A story in photos: a lake romp

5 months 5 days old

So my migraine continues, although it isn't as bad as it was, whilst the weather here is very hot: 35c (95f). I had to skip a New Years Day BBQ and swim over at my parents place, but managed it today with the help of some rather strong painkillers. Knightley also got to swim, although he has lost his nerve for jumping in the pool - he only did it once! So I may have to come up with a strategy for getting him to jump in again, instead of having to lift him in. Once he was in he was very happy, so it's just the take off.

Anyway, I am lying here in bed on my laptop, overheating and feeling pretty bleugh. Just had a cool shower, and just having a shower always exhausts me, but I needed to cool down because I hate the heat more and it tends to make my migraines worse.

Instead of a long wordy blog, I'm going to do a photo blog of our lake adventures - the lazy way out! This is pretty much exactly as it happened, down to the bird bones Knightley found and proceeded to devour. Even though his puppy teeth are out, his adult teeth are still growing in just a bit more, and he still has the urge to chew everything in sight, sigh.

Remember you can click on any of the blog images for larger versions.

Oh wow, what kind of awesome place is this mummy, I can eat all sorts of
disgusting things here then go for a swim and see what I can find there!!
Ohh, bird bones!

Oooh it's so wet and so fun and what, are those DUCKS over there?!?! But
they should be in my mouth!! Wow this is such an exciting place,
maybe I should get out and shake all over mummy then look very cute
so that she'll still love me. I get a kick out of little tricks like that!

I know you're quite wet now mummy, but seriously, you have to love this
face I made especially for you....!! OK enough faces, time to FLY!!!

If I flap my ears fast enough I'll take off right??? Right mummy???
Why are you just laughing at me?!?! I am being serious here! There is
very serious puppy investigation going on! Hmm. I think I might be stuck
 in here, that bank is STEEP.

OK time to try jumping out and maybe will eat duck poo on the shore,
get a run up first and..... WHEEE!!! How clever am I?

Well, there was actually no duck poo up there, so
I think I'll just sit here for a bit and watch the world
go by. I know, I know, I'm a beautiful, gorgeous,
stunning, cute Golden Retriever! Just about everyone
I meet tells me that! If I didn't have such a huge teenage
puppy ego I would get sick of hearing it!

Oh boy, why does mummy always point that weird black thing at me? This time
she keeps on saying that "watch" word again and again and making clicking
noises but I'm not getting any foodies! And the fun has stopped too! Meanie
mummy rinsed me off and then we had some tug with a towel and now she
is being very boring and keeps holding her head, sighing and muttering something
 like "the things I do for you, puppy". Dumb mummy, I do so much for her.... it's
always sit, sit, sit all day!

Mummy messed up my coat all weird and funny so it would dry faster! Grr!
But you can see how it doesn't look much at all like a puppy coat anymore,
not a speck of fluff to be seen... I'm becoming all man baby! Well... a dog
man... wouldn't want to be a human man like daddy! He always seems to be
getting bossed around by mummy again and again... much like me actually...
sigh, the lot of a puppy!

There were people in weird floaty things I stared at for a while that mummy
 told me were kayaks and rowing boats, whatever that means. Mummy also said
the name of the lake was Lake Ginninderra, and I may be smart but she did
have to spell it for me here. I just sort of woof randomly to spell most words actually.

Zzzzzzzz. Later that evening. A very very very tired puppy.

Knightley had been quite calm and simply enjoying himself until two women walking by asked to pat him, and proceeded to hype him up incredibly, leaving with the mild comment "he's quite excitable isn't he?" Sigh. I had kept him on his long line for our time there.... our recall isn't good enough with that many distractions, although we got good opportunity to practice whilst there.... and pre-stupid-women he had kept the line loose and just wondered around me, keeping calm but very happy. After the women revved Knightley up ("OOOeeeee you're so CUTE!!! OOHHH we just need to PAT you, you adorable thing!! Oh you're SOOO cute jumping up on us!! HAHAHA ooohhhh such a cutie!!!!! Do you sit puppy???? Sit Sit sit SIT sit SIT SIT SITSITSIT!!! Oh he sits!!! HOW CUTE!!!!") he just went into crazy zoomie mode, pulling for all he was worth, and I think that sealed the fate on my threatening migraine, along with me pushing myself too hard, too much heat and sun, and a bad sleep the night before. I *should* have taken him away from those two when I saw what they were doing to his mental balance, but I was just so tired out by that stage.

Anyway, Knightley had a really great time. The annoying thing is there are nice little beaches around the lake, yet dogs are not allowed within 50 metres of them. So I had to try finding places Knightley could get to the water, whilst carrying all sorts of stuff, and with my crutches........what a pain, both literally and metaphorically!

I had a look at dog friendly beaches and nearby accommodation on the NSW (New South Wales, Australia's most populous state) South Coast. Whenever we go down to the coast, that is the region to which we go generally, as it is the closest. A weekend down there with Knightley sounds great, although we may want to wait until the summer school holidays are over and the coast empties a bit! I'd just love to see what he makes of waves.

Another 35c (95f) degree day tomorrow, and it is taking its time cooling down tonight. Poor Knightley isn't liking the heat much, but he's surviving. It is so important that we look to our dogs during particularly hot days, dogs just don't manage heat as well as we do. Anyway, sleep calls me. So much for photos only, I can't help myself!

Happy 5 month birthday Knightley! A review of our time together

5 months old

So, Knightley is 5 months old today. Time has gone so very quickly!! He has gone from a tiny fluffy thing to a quite large boisterous but promising teenager.

The first photo is of Knightley the first time we ever saw him. We had a very long drive up to where his breeder lives, about 7 hours from us, and did the trip over a weekend. We were there to temperament test the puppies of his litter, a big litter of 11, 8 of which were male - and I wanted a male for the extra size and strength. There was one other promising male, but he struggled quite a lot when picked up, whereas Knightley was curious and affectionate - although he didn't actually settle down either! It is only now he is able to jump onto the couch that he is discovering the snuggle! In all other aspects Knightley's temperament test went excellently (see my blog post from then titled I HAVE A PUPPY!!!!!!!). My husband and I were absolutely thrilled as we had been through the disappointment of a failed temperament testing on a small litter nearly four weeks earlier. The puppies in that litter were absolutely unsuitable as assistance/service dog candidates and it had been upsetting (read post Temperament testing over, a bit sad). However, we were overjoyed with Knightley and returned to Canberra in high spirits and in a frenzy to prepare for our furry whirlwind.


This next photo is of bringing Knightley home 5 days later. Thankfully we only had to travel about 3 hours to pick him up, and 3 back. The photo is of him asleep in the little crate we used for the first several weeks of his time with us. He had already traveled for three hours that morning, so was pretty much exhausted and barring a couple of toilet breaks, slept the whole way home. It was the lull before the storm! Those first couple of weeks were intense!! Taking him out every 45 minutes during the day, every 2 hours at night, feeding 4 times a day and trying to keep him from taking the house to bits and from taking the flesh on our hands to bits!! But oh my was he gorgeous. Looking back, it did pass too fast. (Read Knightley is home).


This was our first trip outside the home, he'd been with us three days at this point of time. What a tiny gorgeous fuzzball he was - now he has lost 99% of that fuzz - all that remains is a touch on is ears. Back then he was like a luxurious rug or something lol! We took him to the vet that first weekend too, and he was a good little puppy, and admired very very much. We have got used to having our 'rockstar' puppy - I suppose most attractive Golden Retriever puppies get the same treatment.... people just can't stay away from him. I expect it will start to lessen soon as he is looking less and less puppy-ish now.

This shows a very big jump in time to a week ago or so. He's promising to be quite a big dog - he was a slightly above average puppy when we got him, and a bit overly plump. I have tried to make sure he has stayed lean during his fast growing period in order to ensure good joint growth. This is extra important for Golden Retrievers.who do get quite a bit of hip dysplasia (read previous post My last dog and preventative healthcare for the coming one). Late de-sexing will also help with his joint development.


This next photo shows Knightley in a rather proud sit making good eye contact. His training has come a huge way in the slightly over three months we've had him in our lives (brought him home on the 22nd of September when he was 8 weeks old). At first I was quite worried at his lack of interest in food, but as he settles down into life and *things* become less exciting, food becomes more exciting. I am sure once he gets de-sexed - which won't happen until he is 18 months old or so - that will if anything complete the cure, if we are still having any issues. I give a lot of credit to how far Knightley has come in these three months to Sue Ailsby and her Training Levels (follow the so named link in the bar below the title banner). Also some credit must go to the clicker training community in general.  I love how clicker work teaches your dog to really *think* and I love that moment when the dog just gets it! We were doing something new today where Knightley has to make eye contact no matter which way I turn, as part of his "watch me" command, and he was as pleased as punch when he figured it out. I love the fact that you don't just push your dog into a sit, but leave it to him to work it out! There are just so many more possibilities with clicker training.

These were some of Knightley's most recent adventures on Christmas day (see A great Christmas Day for Knightley, barking beginning to stop!) and I was thrilled by how confident my boy was. He is not a dog who worries about anything, or cowers away in a corner! He's always out there in the thick of things, charging ahead to meet the new people. I have seen him scared maybe twice in his three months with us - once when a big very noisy group of children all ran up to him, half on bikes, some on go-carts. He even hid behind me for a second! But once I asked them to speak more quietly and stop running, he recovered quickly and I have tried to ensure since then that his children encounters are all positive - and he does loooove the kids! The other time was fairly soon after he had got his last shots and we were starting to go for lots of walks. We met two rather large pointer type dogs who were rather exuberant and happy to just bowl into poor Knightley. That was the first time I saw his hackles come up, his tail was clamped between his legs and once again he turned to me for protection. But that's it, other than that, no more scared. Whenever he sees something he's hesitant about on his walks (rare, but has happened a couple of times), I get him to paw or nose touch the object after a few treats to get him closer, and then he always completely ignores it. I do hope he stays like this.

So, that was the beginning of our time together, and this is now. What a whirlwind. I can't wait to see what happens next. Each day brings further changes and I love seeing him mature. We've picked a truly lovely dog here.

Targeting breakthroughs, a BBQ and big storms

My clever boy... looking distinctly un-clever,
with his mouth full of leaves, or dirt, or
twigs.... or something even less savory......

4 months 2 days old

Knightley really impressed me a couple of days ago. Over the last week I have started training a "shake" as well as more paw targeting, and I've finally 'shaken' (get it?! terrible, I know) his expectation of doing all paw targeting from a down. Anyway, I'd been using a small tupperware lid for his paw target training (with enough height that treats could just fit under it to encourage him to start the pawing process), but once he had got the idea, had changed to a big white sticker for the "shake". The next day I thought to myself that we hadn't done anything 'new' for a while so decided for the next session I'd try to get him targeting my leg with his paw instead. At first I had the sticker half on my hand half on my leg, and he adapted immediately to pawing a vertical surface instead of horizontal. Then I took it off my hand completely and he kept on pawing the sticker on my leg on cue. What a clever dog! I moved it around on different places on my leg, and he followed it around with his paw, albeit slightly inaccurately. I was as proud as punch and felt like giving him the entire can of wet dog food I had been treating him with during our training session!

So, later in our afternoon I decided to push my luck a bit. He enjoys his nose targeting, but so far all we have done is touching my hand, and touching the end of a purpose made wand. As soon as he saw the sticker on my hand the second time, he tried to paw it. Quite a few times! Not getting a click/treat made him rather annoyed!! Anyway, I cued a hand touch, several times, had him running back and forward in front of me. At least he had stopped trying to paw the sticker. Then I did what I did before, put it half on my hand, half on my leg. He tried pawing again. Obviously we don't have it entirely under impulse control yet!! I pulled it off and did a few more nose targets. Then put it on half/half and immediately cued a touch. He got that, and received a joyful jackpot. Then it must have clicked. He pretty much got it right from then on, although he did eat the sticker a bit when I cued touch. I was able to ask for "paw" or "touch" and mostly get the right one, although occasionally he tried the other one first before getting it right. So much learnt for one day!! I was very very impressed and proud of my puppy.

I'm thrilled to have this photo of Knightley standing still,
I have so few photos of him actually standing because
he tends to move too much! Too bad his harness is pulling
him out of shape a bit, but it is thanks to my Dad I have this
photo at all. Knightley is growing up so fast!

Last weekend my husband and my parents and brother went to a nearby park for a BBQ.... and we took Knightley. It was a great opportunity for him to socialise some more, and I was hopeful that he might be able to at least get his paws wet in the lake. However, it was a rather windy day and the lake was full of dust and everyone had pretty much moved away from the lake into the trees to get some shelter. He did however demonstrate his ongoing barking problem, although it could have been worse I suppose. I had taken a freeze dried kangaroo bone with lots of meat on it for him, but he spent half his time getting filthy eating dirt and leaves. SIGH!

Knightley in his usual 'rug' position with his legs splayed
out either side. You might notice the squashed tennis ball
in front of him he managed to find on a little walk. He often
carries things with him for minutes on end, and seems to
really enjoy doing it. I hope that means he will be good
at retrieving stuff for me!

Since the BBQ his barking has been improving quite a bit, although he will still bark if he thinks it will help matters - although it never does he seems to live in hope! He no longer barks whilst my husband and I eat in the evening, and that was his worst time by far. I have worked hard at showing him that his barking is unacceptable. Perhaps I will do a blog entry on how I am tackling his barking. It is a four pronged approach combining a 'quiet' cue and treats and 'good quiet' praise for continued good behaviour, with depriving him of my company when he barks (negative punishment) which also interupts the barking, and also slowly conditioning him to my departures so that he doesn't bark when I leave the room but he can't follow which has been one of his major problems.

Also since the BBQ we have had some pretty severe thunderstorms. We often do get some bad ones during Summer - and it is just going into the beginning of Summer now. Whenever we have got even mild thunder since we got Knightley I have made sure that it is a time for fun and treats. The storm we had not last night but the previous was severe enough that we lost power twice, the gutters overflowed to the point we had flooding in the house, and there were several crashes that made *me* jump. Knightley got a little mopey as the night went on, but there was absolutely no shaking, no trying to hide or anything like that.

Frankly, there has only once been anything Knightley has been scared of, and that is the kids who live on our street. There was a group of about 8 of them, half on bikes, a couple on go-carts and the rest running... and they all came towards him at once to meet him. That is just about the only time I *ever* seen his tail between his legs, ears back slightly, and crouching a bit. He even tried to take shelter behind me. I told them to pat him one at a time, to talk quietly, and to stop running... and within a minute he was on his back grinning his doggy grin. This was less than a week ago though, so next time he meets kids I will make sure it isn't threatening so it will be 100% successful and he won't develop a thing about kids. Anyway, I was very happy to see him unafraid of a pretty severe storm, although I know it often develops later in life in dogs. Still, so long as I continue doing what I'm doing with him, he should be just fine with thunder and lightening. I mean, he has struck up a friendship with the postman, who rides his motorbike right up to Knightley and I, and then Knightley jumps up (a bit naughty but he gets off when I tell him to) to say hello to a helmeted funny dressed man on a hot piece of metal that roars into life without warning. All this without a skerrik of fear. I'm definitely proud of my puppy dog.

He's looking less and less like a puppy, speaking of 'puppy'. He's got quite a lot of his adult coat, and every time I brush him I get huge handfuls of his puppy coat coming out. He's definitely no longer that fluffball we had in those early weeks. His back is a full 65cm long (26 inches) from neck to tail, he's about 45cm tall (18 inches), and he is 60cm around his chest (24 inches). Despite that his neck hasn't grown much at a rather pitiful 34cm (13.5 inches), and he has a LOT more weight and bulk to put on - at a guess he is about 16.5kg (36lbs). He turned 18 weeks old today, has eight big adult teeth and has another two coming in. It is truly amazing how fast these dogs grow up - and he's been on a slow growth plan! Crazy.

Knightley's final puppy shots, LLW and learning new skills and tricks

15 weeks old

So this week Knightley had his last puppy shots, which should now make him safe from parvo. While I have been socialising him that has been the big one I have been scared of, but now this shot is done, and give it a few more days to work completely.... then I can relax about it. A friends dog was very close to dying from parvo when he was a pup, I was pretty scared that it would happy to Knightley. The memories of my previous dog, Clipsy, are still surprisingly fresh. He died in 2000 from a long and protracted battle with a progressive heart murmur like so many poor Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. By the end of his life he was taking almost as much medication as I do!! So I guess I am just scared of having a very sick dog on my hands again.

Knightley's coat, having lost the majority of his cute puppy
fluff, now has a stripe of coarser fur down his back which is
the beginning of his adult Golden Retriever coat. Golden's
have a double coat, his existing puppy coat will be the
undercoat, and this new coarser fur coming in will be the
protective overcoat.

Parvo is one of those illnesses in dogs that scares me. As does the prevalence of cancer in Golden Retrievers, but it does tend to be less in the English type of Golden Retrievers than the American type. Here in Australia we generally have the English type - they tend to be a bit larger, heavier set, often of lighter coat. The American type looks like it comes greatly from 'field lines' by and large - often quite slight in build, a great deal of energy and drive, less feathering (coat), and the coat is often darker... even red in colour. Knightley is definitely starting to get his adult coat, so far it isn't going any darker (usually it darkens a bit to match the colour of the dogs ears), but I guess we'll just see. You can see here in the photo to the right that most of his 'puppy fluff' has gone, and he has this stripe of coarser fur down his back, that is the beginning of his adult coat. I was open to him being a more golden coloured golden, but I would be rather pleased if he stayed cream too! Anyway, it is a great relief to have Knightley fully vaccinated. One thing to worry about less. I am such a champion worrier.

Knightley's paws compared to my palm. They are so huge,
and even bigger when he is standing on them, then they truly
are the same size as my palm. Doing paw targeting with such
big paws on still what is only just a medium sized dog is kind
of odd!

So after a bit of a hiatus in learning new skills, apart from a bit of paw targeting, we are learning a few new things. We also have a bit of fixing to do... I've mucked up some behaviours just a bit by accidentally creating some unwanted behaviour chains and expectations. For instance, Knightley is getting good at paw targeting - but because he seemed better at doing it in a down position, I let him do it from a down about 2/3 of the time. Now as soon as the lid I use for him to tap with his paw comes out, he automatically goes into a down. To get him to paw target it in anything but a down, I have to keep him moving back and forth with nose targeting (touch), then paw, then nose, paw etc. Otherwise he just lies down and uses his paw that way. Speaking of paws, his are pretty massive - in the photo here you can see they are nearly as big as my palm, especially when he's standing up on it, not lying down as he is here. Another problem I had but have mostly fixed, is for a while I was practicing a lot of 'puppy pushups' where you ask for a sit, down, sit, down, sit, down and so on. He got so used to it he used to pre-empt the cue. Grrrr. So I started being as random as I could be, sit, touch, zen, down, touch, sit, down, sit, touch, down, zen etc. That seems to have *mostly* fixed it, although Knightley seems to slide into a down if I leave him in a sit for a short while. Sit stays are not going to come easily!!

I have started to teach the "bang you're dead" trick, where when you say "bang!" with the fake 'gun' hand movement, and the dog flops into a down on its side with its head on the ground. Knightley is getting the on the side bit, but only sometimes manages to put him head right down. Also the speed isn't quite what I would expect from something getting shot.... more like a stoned turtle....... Still it's a start, and it's very cute when he gets it right. I throw a party and he gets a treat jackpot.

We are doing lots of Loose/Lazy Leash Walking (LLW) training, but damn it is going slowly. Barely perceptively moving, one might say. Instead of taking Knightley out the back to do his business, I take him out the front on a leash, so that he doesn't get as excited by going out the front anyone. I'm also handfeeding him his meals occasionally out the front, and making them extra yummy so that he can't resist. So he is definitely taking food better in close proximity to the house, and there has been some improvement on walks too I think, which will help with the ability to train outdoors and eventually master LLW.

This is the Freedom Harness, by
Wiggles. Wags and Whiskers. It is
considered the best harness in terms
of letting the shoulder move freely.

The vet and vet nurse expressed concern the other day that Knightley may pull me over with an excited lunge, as he is now getting to that size and strength. They also referred me to a trainer who does sessions on Saturdays, who gave me a call as soon as I got home from the vet. Both vet AND trainer tried to push a halti on me. I think they were a bit surprised at the vehemence of my reaction, and a bit baffled when I explained it by saying that how it sat on the muzzle had psychological effects on the dog. I have looked into getting the Freedom Harness by Wiggles Wags and Whiskers, but will have to pay an obscene cost in postage from the US it seems. It is a no pull harness that doesn't constrict the shoulder joint, as unfortunately many no pull harnesses do. The plan would be to use that for a month or two as a tool to *train* Knightley, in conjuction with further clicker training, and training on the flat collar. It would just help make me be safe on our walks.

Anyway, I had a great chat to the trainer about all sorts of dog trainer type stuff. She had done the dog training course I am interested in, so that was good for some insights. She says that I should feel free to 'use and abuse her' for the training of Knightley, eg if he needs some distraction training that week, come and use her class as the distraction. Or if I just want him to have some socialisation, I can bring him along for that. Her class is being held in a field, so I don't think I would find walking around in it, doing heel work etc all that easy or good for me, but she said I could sit that out. Apparently they let the dogs off to just run around, so that sounds great for Knightley. I am volunteering today, so won't be able to go to this session - but maybe next weekend. I look forward to it. From my rather lengthy chat to the trainer, we are on the same page on quite a few things - although not haltis - and it was good to talk to someone who knew her stuff. The previous guy at puppy class was just a little clueless and stuck in his ways.

I went a bit nuts and took a huge series of photos with my new camera yesterday, so here is one of the best of them after tiring him out playing with the flirt pole. My Knightley a touch over 15 weeks, 13.5kg (29.7lbs) and a full 43cm (17 inches) at the withers. He has also lost several teeth now, possibly helped by the amount of tug he loves to play!

Knightley, chewing on the ball attached to the flirt pole. His accuracy
in chasing and speed has improved hugely over the last couple of weeks.
Gone is that baby puppy clumsiness, he is on his way to becoming an
adolescent dog.